The District of Squamish is being awarded up to $3.9 million through the Federal Gas Tax Fund.
The grant will fund the full estimated cost to upgrade 1.2 kilometres of Squamish River dike at the Upper Judd Slough in the Brackendale area, where the work is expected to begin this summer.
Bringing local dikes up to was identified as a top priority in the District of Squamish Integrated Flood Hazard Management Plan (IFHMP).
This grant-funded project is expected to significantly reduce the risk of flooding and protect residential, commercial and environmentally sensitive areas within the community including Brackendale, Garibaldi Estates and Squamish Nation reserve lands, the district said.
The project will also protect critical transportation infrastructure including Highway 99 and CN Rail.
The upgrades include raising approximately 1.2 kilometres of dike by up to 1.5 metres and improving existing erosion protection work.
Implementing these upgrades will enhance community safety and mitigate the environmental and economic risks to residents of Squamish, creating a strong and resilient community and region.
“This is a huge win for the Squamish community,” said Mayor Patricia Heintzman. “Community resiliency and sustainability, including climate change adaptation, is paramount for the District of Squamish. We are achieving this by investing in our flood protection infrastructure and reducing our vulnerability to flooding.
Dave Colwell says
Anyone who has an elementary knowledge of how a river valley like ours works will know that the raising of the dyke, while necessary, will always be a stop-gap in the long run and it will have to be done again and again in the future. The river will continue to deposit silt and the average water levels will keep rising. The “rub” is that this process is actually speeded up by pinching off the natural outflow in the existing training dyke in the estuary. This is rather like squeezing the distal end of a water hose…the water in the hose will be slowed and material in the flow will be more easily deposited.
This, then begs the question about the wisdom behind the training dyke itself. Can’t win with nature, I guess!
Good that we got the grant this time though!